Hasta La Creative!

Almap BBDO launched a global campaign entitled “Feed The Good” for Pedigree with the online documentary spot “First Days Out.”

“First Days Out” tells the inspiring story of how rescue dogs helped two former inmates rehabilitate following their release from prison. Matt, who served two years for theft in Las Vegas, found life on the outside lonely. Unable to reunite with his father, who severed ties, until he got his life in order, Jeanie provided the companionship he needed. “I feel Jeanie brought light to my future,” he said. Joey, meanwhile, served twelve years for armed robbery in Florida. While he was in prison, his mother and grandmother died and Sadie became his only family, bringing companionship to an otherwise empty home. He then got a job training dogs for adoption at the kennel. After telling both of these stories, the spot ends with the tearjerking line, “You save a dog. A dog saves you.”

“Feed The Good” marks Pedigree’s first global campaign in years, and rolls out in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and the U.S. with broadcast, print and online ads, as well as additional markets later in the year and in 2016. It is built around the insight that dogs help bring out the inner good in people. “Studies attest how the companionship of animals transforms and improves people’s lives,” said Leonid Sudakov, chief marketing officer, Global Petcare, Mars, Inc. “By nourishing the loveable innocence in every dog, Pedigree helps feed the good they bring to the world.”

Credits:

Advertiser: Mars
Agency: AlmapBBDO
Title: First Days Out
Product: Pedigree
General Director Creation: Luiz Sanches
Executive Director Creation: Bruno Prosperi, Renato Simões
Creation Director: André Gola, Pernil
Digital Creative Director: Luciana Haguiara
Creation: Pernil, André Gola, Fabio Cerdeira,  André Sallowicz,  Felipe Cirino, André Leotta
Rtvc: Vera Jacinto, Ana Paula Casagrande, Diego Villas Bôas
Producer: Hungry Man
Managing Partner: Alex Mehedff
Executive Producer: Rodrigo Castello e Renata Corrêa
Direction: Ricardo Mehedff
Photography: Grant Weiss, Mike Alex and Ricardo Mehedff
Line Producer: Mariana Barbiellini
Track: Big Foote
Assembler / Editor: Ricardo Mehedff
Post-production Supervisor: Rodrigo Oliveira
Finishing: Great Studio
Color Grading: Psycho N’Look
Assistance: Fernanda Antonelli, Pedro Fragata, Samantha Kechichian and José Maria Fafe
Planning: Cintia Gonçalves, João Gabriel, Daniel Machado, Augusto Veríssimo and Marília Rodrigues
Media: Flávio de Pauw, Brian Crotty, Fábio Cruz, Juliana Melo and Carolina Pimentel
Digital Media: Kaue Cury, Livia Novaes e Rogério Beraldo
Business Director: Rodrigo Andrade
Approval: Leonid Sudakov, Marina Sachs, Oduvaldo Viana, Fernando Manoel

CP+B found an unusual way to promote Fruit of the Loom’s No Ride-Up Boxer Briefs: plastic pants.

The agency introduced the idea with a 30-second broadcast spot featuring guys wearing see-through plastic pants jumping around to prove the “no ride up” claim. But CP+B decided to extend the campaign in stealthy fashion. They created a fake fashion line called Plastique, which appeared in a large billboard in SoHo. Fruit of the Loom’s branding appears in the model’s underwear, and more subtly in the Plastique logo. The agency even went so far as to create a fake designer for Plastique, Frank La Rant, giving the character his own Twitter handle, website, an extensive backstory and even a documentary.

“We deliberately made it high-end fashion but with a question mark,” CP+B associate creative director Mona Hasan told Digiday.”We wanted people to say, ‘It’s plastic pants; could this actually be real?’”

Anomaly New York launched a new spot for Dick’s Sporting Goods, targeting women with an inspirational message in “Choices: Who Will You Be?”

The anthem ad begins with the question, “Who will you be, at this unholy hour?” as the spot shows several women beginning their days with workouts. “Because no true wins…are ever won easy,” the voiceover explains, as a woman struggles at the end of her workout, another to keep going in a marathon, and a third to hold a difficult yoga pose. “But then, in that moment, something snaps…you become someone new. And then tomorrow it all starts over,” the spot concludes, ending with the tagline, “Every season starts at Dick’s.”

The ad, part of the brand’s broader “Who Will You Be?” campaign marks a shift in strategy for the brand, as it attempts to appeal directly to women juggling athletics with other everyday activities. “The big insight behind this campaign, as it pertains to women, is that women juggle a lot,” Dick’s CMO Lauren Hobart explained to Adweek. “There is a lot that women need to get done in any given day. So the choice to work out—and the choice to fit in fitness—is a challenging choice for people. They have to find the time.”

Hobart also told the publication that Dick’s would be “expanding floor space devoted to women’s attire across its 600-plus U.S. stores.” The ad will make its debut May 15th on networks including ESPN, E! and Bravo. “Choices: Who Will You Be?” will then be followed by a series of 15-second ads, running through July. The effort follows W+K Portland’s “Better For It” spot for Nike this month, which targeted female viewers with a similar message of triumph over adversity.

Credits:

Client: Dicks Sporting Goods
Agency: Anomaly
Global Creative Officer/Partner: Mike Byrne
Group Creative Director: Seth Jacobs
Sr. Copywriter: Johnny Dantonio
Sr. Art Director: Matt Walton
Sr. Copywriter: Barry Katz
Sr. Art Director: Alex Kaplan
Copywriter: Dan Shapiro
Art Director: Chris Araujo
Copywriter: Jeremy Straight
Art Director: Bryce Cline
Head of Broadcast Production: Andrew Loevenguth
Sr. Producer: Matt Flaherty
Sr. Producer: Jenn Pennington
Business Director: Damien Reid
Account Director: Ji You
Account Director: Mike Reuter
Business Affairs: Annemarie Cullen/Carla Curry
Project Manager: Allison Uecker
Prod. Company: Park Pictures
Director: AG Rojas
Director: Lisa Rubisch
Director: Chris Wilcha
Executive Producer: Justin Pollock
Executive Producer: Jackie Kellman Brisbee
Head of Production: Anne Bobroff
Producer: Pete Vitale
Producer: Nina Shiffman
Producer: Michelle Currinder
Director of Photography: Bradford Young
1st AD: Andi Budman
Production Designer: Rodney Becker
Wardrobe Stylist: Summar Shalah
Casting/Sports Supervisor: Mike Fisher/Varsity Casting
Casting: The Cast Station
Director of Photography: Jody Lee Lipes
1st AD: Peter Jackson
Production Designer: Amelia Battaglio
Wardrobe Stylist: Laura Jeane Shannon
Casting: Janine Martel/Martine Casting
Director of Photography: Adam Beckman
1st AD: Peter Jackson
Production Designer: Harper Hellams
Wardrobe Stylist: Giselle Knee
Casting/Sports Supervisor: Mike Fisher/Varsity Casting
Casting: Universal Casting
Editorial: Consulate
Editor: Peter Johnson
Editor: Ryan McCally
Executive Producer: Alan Lopez
Post: MPC
Executive Producer: Jesse Kernit
Producer: Michele Watkins
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Sound Mix: Heard City
Audio Engineer/Sound Design: Eric Warzecha
Producer: Heath Raymond
Music: Search Party, Duotone Music

While this deceptive 10-minute(!) ad from BBDO Russia Group only reveals its secret alternate narrative when viewed in fast-forward, the agency does relay a certain important message when it comes to driving: don’t speed.

Filled with subliminal messaging for native insurance company inTouch, the ad injects plenty of hyperbole with a ridiculous title in hopes of building suspense. The campaign seems to be based on the theory that “Because our drivers are all impatient, they want to find the mentioned car crash quickly” while playing off of the Russians’ well-documented love of dashboard cameras. 

The Moscow-based agency cleverly inserted a head-on collision around the 3:25 mark that only appears when users drag the cursor ahead.

The agency explains:

“We figured that inserting frames from the alternative footage into the primary one at given intervals would cause the viewer watching the timeline thumbnails to see the animation from the alternative footage instead of the primary one.”

Not the worst way to be slightly enlightened while on break.

Last week we shared “The Unique Connection” Pandora’s in-house Mother’s Day online ad which saw children identifying their mothers while blindfolded. Now Pandora has rolled out its Mother’s Day broadcast effort, the first work for the brand from Grey New York since winning lead creative duties in January.

The spot launches a new campaign entitled “The Art of You” with an ad emphasizing the brand’s jewelry as not just a Mother’s Day gift but “generation, marked in silver.” Three generations are represented in the ad, which cast a real mother, daughter and grandmother for the roles. As Adweek points out, the spot also makes an effort to highlight Pandora’s options beyond the popular charm bracelets. While it’s not free of cringeworthy lines (“laughter suspended in sparkle”), the ad marks a transition from the previous “Unforgettable Moments” campaign and, coupled with “The Unique Connection,” indicates a slight change of direction in the brand’s marketing going forward.

“Pandora has deep ties to charm bracelets that memorialize times and people,” Grey executive creative director Caitlin Ewing explained to Adweek. “What’s new here is we’re taking that heritage and bringing it into the future, where it’s also about self expression, ‘the art of you.’”

Lowe Cape Town and production company 0307 Films took to Nosy Iranja, a remote island village off of Madagascar with only 300 inhabitants, to film “The Fishermen” for Prudential.

The beautifully shot, 1:45 ad, was directed by Kim Geldenhuys and cast entirely with villagers from Nosy Iranja. It shows a boy and his grandfather going out on their boat fishing everyday, despite disappointing results. After weathering an intense storm, they finally hit the payload and bring back a boat full of fish to the village. At this point, the connection to the brand is finally made with the line, “Success comes from being consistent. Day after day, month after month.” This is followed by the brand’s tagline, “Consistency is the only currency that matters.” Somehow Lowe Cape Town managed to make the subject of consistency interesting, and they didn’t even need dialogue to do it.

“It’s a very simple analogy which conveys Prudential’s message in a humble and poignant manner,” Lowe executive creative director Kirk Gainsford told Adweek. “We wanted to steer clear of all the clichés of showing aspirational people getting ahead in life and so on.”

Credits:

Agency: Lowe Cape Town
Producer: Riska Emeran
Executive Creative Director: Kirk Gainsford
Creative Director: Alistair Morgan
Art Director: Bruce Harris
Account Manager: Sarah Hall
Sound Design: Stephen Webster, TheWorkRoom
Music Production: Pulse
Editor: Kobus Loots
Edit Company: Upstairs Post
Postproduction House: Black Ginger
Production Company: 0307 Films
Producer: Tess Tambourlas
DOP: Alard De Smidt
Director: Kim Geldenhuys
AD: Craig Brorson

Cramer-Krasselt announced the hiring of Nancy Aresu as executive vice president and general manager of the agency’s New York office, Adweek reports. Aresu will replace the retiring Jeff Johnson, who will remain at the agency through the summer to allow for a smooth transition.

Aresu arrives at Cramer-Krasselt from Young & Rubicam, where she has served as director of client services since September of 2012. Prior to Y&R, she served a short stint as director, development at Rally Marketing Group. That followed terms as executive vice president, managing director at Lowe Worldwide (2005-2010) and Deutsch (2010-2011). Before accepting the position at Lowe Worldwide, Aresu spent fourteen years at Margeotes Fertitta + Partners as a partner and director of client services.

Cramer-Krasselt CEO Peter Krivkovich cited Aresu’s “very outgoing personality, lots of drive” as a key factor in the decision. In the new role, she will partner with chief creative officer Craig Marcus and director of brand planning Jasmine Dadlani to expand the agency’s account base.

GSD&M launched a new spot for Southwest Airlines entitled “Garage Band,” promoting the airlines sale campaign.

The spot sees a group of former high school buddies rocking out in the garage to “The Boy’s Are Back in Town,” with pretty limited musical chops. “Southwest is having a sale,” explains the voiceover. “So you can put the old garage band back together, even if it never made it out of the garage.” At this point the music changes from the Thin Lizzy version of the track to the garage band hammering away at it, poorly. Maybe it’s just that it comes on the heels of the funny follow-up to the successful “Wedding Season” spot from last year, but the premise and execution fall a little flat — particularly with this musical transition. The third of four spots promoting Southwest’s sale campaign, the ad is running in local markets including Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Denver.

Credits:

Agency: GSD&M
Client: Southwest Airlines
Title: Garage Band
Launch Date: 4/28/15
President: Marianne Malina
Chief Creative Officer: Jay Russell
Sr. VP/Group Creative Director: Brent Ladd
Group Creative Director: Lara Bridger
Creative Director/AD: Nikki Baker, Kate Griffiths
Creative Director/Writer: Leslie Shaffer
SVP Production: Jack Epsteen
Executive Producer: Marianne Newton
Senior Producer: Natalie Lum Freedman
Business Affairs: J.J. Gaines
Account Leadership: Adrienne Walpole, Amy Lyon, Kate Rutkowski
Project Management: Elizabeth Stelling
Experience and Insights: Jennifer Billiot
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Jun Diaz
Producer: Alex Waite
Editorial Company: Beast Editorial
Editor: Ben Ellis
Graphics: Beast
VFX Supervisor:  NA
VFX/Online: Jim Reed
Audio: Pony Sound
Engineer: Corey Roberts
Music Supervision:  Hum Music
Music: Thin Lizzy’s “Boys Are Back in Town” licensed from Universal Music Group

Grey New York launched PSA spot for Women Against Gun Violence entitled “Keep Your Finger Off the Trigger.”

“Keep Your Finger Off the Trigger” takes an unusual, even slightly bizarre approach, setting a simple folksy song written and performed by Stephen Krauss to stop-motion animation of dismembered fingers (directed and animated by Johnnie Semerad of Quiet Man). Meant to target millenials, who Women Against Gun Violence say aren’t paying much attention to the gun violence prevention movement, the spot shakes up the category with a different kind of PSA, presumably meant to be more shareable than the stunts and scare tactics you’ll see elsewhere. If nothing else, it certainly is attention-grabbing, between the casual gore and some NSFW suggestions for how to use your finger we expect this will raise a few eyebrows.

“This may not be your dinner table video but it gets the point across, and it gets people talking which is the ultimate goal,” Josh Stepakoff, gun violence survivor and Women Against Gun Violence’s youngest board member, told Adweek “I want my peers, the millennial generation, to use their power to affect change, and I believe this PSA will help get them engaged in the conversation.”

Credits:

Advertiser: Women Against Gun Violence
Spot Title: “Keep Your Finger Off the Trigger”
First Air Date: 4/28/15
Agency: Grey NY
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Tor Myhren
Deputy Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Per Pedersen
Chief Creative Officer: Andreas Dahlqvist
Executive Creative Director: Stephen Krauss
Executive Creative Director: Ari Halper
Singer/Songwriter: Stephen Krauss
Creative Director: Marco Pupo
Creative Director: Joao Coutinho
EVP Director Broadcast Production: Bennett McCarroll
Director of Audio Services/Sound Engineer: Dante Desole
VP Account Director: Elizabeth Gilchrist
Account Supervisor: Katie Stirn
Business Manager: Cecilia Critchley
EVP Director of Music: Josh Rabinowitz
VP Director of Licensing: Amy Rosen
Project Manager: Emma Tonetti

Production Company (location): Quietman
Director/Animator: Johnnie Semerad
Executive Producer: Carey Gattyan
Associate Producer: Clare O’Brien
Editor: Morgan Mitchell
Flame Artist: Stephanie Greenberg

John Rambo did indeed state his belief that Mayweather will win Saturday’s fight in a campaign for the event’s sponsor Tecate earlier this month.

But we’re more interested in work by Mexican/Argentinian agency Nómades and production company Central Films, which debuted a couple of months ago in Mexico but just started running in the US to promote this weekend’s event.

The premise of the campaign is that Stallone can show the men in question how to be more masculine. Not obvious at all!

Oh ha. We got it. The second ad is a bit less explicit:

The third entry is amusing primarily because we didn’t realize that “videoclub” was still a thing:

What, no Expendables 3 plug?!

Finally, some dude wore a pair of fuzzy white earmuffs:

So Stallone is your guide to all things masculine, and he supports Mayweather…who could make up to $180 million on the fight and also has a habit of beating up the women in his life.

Today we also learned that Survivor wrote “Eye of the Tiger” specifically for Stallone because he couldn’t secure the rights to “Another One Bites the Dust” — which would have been an awkward choice in the first place.

We will continue to ignore his advice.